Watch Ngongotaha v Waikite highlights and interview with Ngongotaha injured captain Courtney Mita and Waikite co-captain Turuki Tahui.
Triumphant cheers sounded around the Ngongotaha Domain when the final whistle blew yesterday .
A bumper crowd turned out to watch unbeaten Ngongotaha tackle Waikite in the fiercely contested local derby in the Baywide Division 1 competition and spectators were treated to an enthralling battle.
The bulk of the crowd were cheering on the home team, who clung onto a 14-10 win, but the local supporters had to endure some nervous moments towards the end of the game.
Ngongotaha's Carlo Putaranui is congratulated by his teammates after scoring against Waikite. Photo/Stephen Parker
Waikite camped on Ngongotaha's try line in the dying stages of the match, with the forwards doing the hard work, but a dogged Ngongotaha defence held firm to hold onto the precious win and local bragging rights.
Ngongotaha captain Courtney Mita, who was sidelined due to an Achilles tendon rupture, will be pleased after his side were pushed to the limit.
"I'm pretty stoked for the boys. Big games like this always get you off your seat and no doubt with the crowd today its shown how much history there is between these two teams.
"It was really exciting, we always knew it was going to be close, Waikite is a team that doesn't step down especially in a big game like this.
"I was in no doubt we'd hold onto the end. We trust our systems and believe in the boys... the boys dug well and dug in deep."
The result was made all the more satisfying for Ngongotaha after they trailed 3-0 at half time - the points scored from the boot of Waikite's Nere Tarei from a penalty.
After a stern half-time team talk from coach Jodie Wharekura, Ngongotaha came out with a more attacking approach and it paid dividends almost immediately. After a direct, patient approach the ball found its way into the hands of winger Carlo Putaranui who powered over shortly after the restart and John Ririnui converted.
Spurred on by a noisy home support, Ngongotaha continued to press and 10 minutes later they found the try line again - this time through youngster Masiu Vanikolo who finished off an impressive backline passage of play when he dived over in the left corner off a neat Willie Saywell offload. From a difficult angle Ririnui converted once again.
Ngongotaha's Masiu Vanaikolo scores his teams second try against Waikite. Photo/File
Kevin Lee's Waikite, urged on by a large travelling supporters contingency, battled back and were aided by the sin binning of Ngongotaha stand-in captain Zak Hohneck.
The away side dominated for the next quarter largely thanks to a powerful forward line. After substantial pressure on Ngongotaha's try line, including two held up tries, eventually the ball broke to Reg Parata who crashed over from close range with a Tarei conversion.
For the final 10 minutes Waikite controlled the match. Several opportunities presented themselves to the now exhausted side but a solid Ngongotaha defence battled back forcing errors and finally distinguished the away side's attack.
Turuki Tahuri, captain for Waikite in the second half, said silly mistakes at the end cost his team.
"We feel quite exhausted - it's one of those local derbies that we knew would be a hard match. It was really physical, really fast, Ngongotaha have a very fast backline and a big forward back so they've got a good combination in there," he said.
"We tested them and they tested us, unfortunately we just weren't good enough or up to scratch today. The little one per centers and small things that made the difference for them. Everyone had their attacking opportunities to score points and at the last minute unfortunately we failed to nail the last nail in the coffin."
Elsewhere in Baywide Division 1, Kahukura crushed Katikati 72 - 7 at Kuirau Park and Marist St Michael's beat Rangiuru 28-17 at Marist Park.
